SpaceX Breaks Ground on Launch Pad for Huge Private Rocket

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The company Space Exploration Technologies, better known as
SpaceX, broke ground Wednesday (July 13) on a new launch site for
its massive heavy-lift rocket.

SpaceX is upgrading a site called Space Launch Complex 4-East at
Vandenberg Air Force Base near Santa Barbara, Calif. The
refurbished launch complex will host SpaceX's
Falcon Heavy rocket, which the company says will be more
powerful than any launch vehicle currently in service.

According to the
Los Angeles Times, SpaceX is pouring about $30 million into
the new launch site, with the aim of securing large launch
contracts with the Air Force. Currently, the United Launch
Alliance — a joint venture of Boeing and Lockheed Martin —
launches all payloads for the United States Department of
Defense.

Musk made it clear that SpaceX wants a piece of the military
satellite market.

"These are difficult fiscal times for our federal government, and
the Falcon vehicles can save the Department of Defense almost $2
billion per year in launch costs, while increasing reliability
and capability," Musk said in a statement. "This presents a great
opportunity for the DoD to avoid cancelling other programs and
minimize reductions in personnel as budgets contract."

The Falcon Heavy boasts 27 of SpaceX's Merlin engines, three
times as many as the company's
Falcon 9 rocket. The heavy-lifter will be able to loft about
117,000 pounds (53,000 kilograms) of cargo to orbit, about twice
as much as the United Launch Alliance's Delta 4, which is the
most powerful rocket currently in operation, company officials
said.

The new heavy-lifter is to arrive at Vandenberg by the end of
2012, and its inaugural flight will follow soon after, SpaceX
officials said.

The Falcon Heavy is designed to stand 227 feet (69.2 meters) tall
and weigh about 3.1 million pounds (1.4 million kg). It would
incorporate the standard Falcon 9 rocket, with two liquid-powered
Falcon 9 first-stage boosters strapped on its sides.

The price for a launch aboard the new Falcon Heavy is set for
$100 million, compared with the $50 million price tag for a
Falcon 9 liftoff, Musk has said.

Space Launch Complex 4-East has a long history, but it hasn't
been used for more than half a decade. The first launch from the
site took place in 1964, while the last blasted off in 2005.

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